Africa, Japan hail conduct of TICAD IV

Yokohama- Japan (PANA) -- Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, also incumbe nt chairman of the African Union (AU) and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda W ednesday hailed the conduct of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on Afri c a's Development(TICAD IV), outlining the need to implement the crucial decisions mad e during the three-day meeting.
"TICAD IV was crowned with success.
It led to highly important outcome for Afric a's development," Kikwete told the joint news conference he hosted with the Japa n ese PM at the end of the three-day meeting.
"The meeting was for Africa an opportunity to be heard and it found in Japan a g enuine desire to listen to it and an unstinting commitment to help it develop.
W e are very grateful to Japan and its people," he added.
He welcomed the setting up of a follow-up mechanism on the implementation of the decisions made during the conference, describing it as the major innovation of T ICAD VI.
"The African Union will also set up a monitoring and assessment mechanism on the TICAD process," Kikwete revealed.
Japanese PM Fukuda on his part, emphasised his government's desire to "do its be st" to ensure decisions made during the conference are implemented.
Fukuda further pledged to present the decisions of the meeting to the leaders of the eight most industrialised countries (G-8) at their 7-9 July summit in Hokk a ido Toyako, northern Japan.
"If we do not find solutions to Africa's problems, there will be no stability an d prosperity in the 21st century," he warned.
On the conduct of the TICAD IV, the Japanese PM said it was the most important m eeting ever organised by his country.
He hailed the "strong" presence of African leaders, international institution re presentatives including World Bank President Robert Zoellick, UN deputy secretar y general Asha-Rose Migiro and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ma n ager, Kemal Dervis.